My first drive of a Cali

[B J G]

It might be the rear are only slightly out on castor causing the wear unless 20k is pretty reasonable for 235 tyres?

Might be as simple as run on a low inflation pressure. Tired rear springs would also wear inside as would having it heavily loaded. They do tend to go into a negative camber position normally.
If the rear alignment was out you'd have felt a tendency to go left or right on a bumpy road. The rear tries to dictate the direction, most noticeable on Fen type roller coaster surfaces when the front lifts.

 

[2into1]

Thank God i purchased mine from Campersales in Burgess Hill then, attention to detail was excellent so since collection not having to call about the slightest of issues.

They are one of the best (the best?) dealers, but I'd be interested to know which items on that list they do.

 

[Jenny H]

Im finding this post very interesting.
I test drove a lovely SE 2012 with only 26k miles, 4WD, in Ipswich, £43k
Thanks to the forum research I was somewhat put off by the oil debate!
Upon mentioning it to the private garage owner he dismissed it at once!
I came to the conclusion I would be better off putting the extra £10k towards a brand new Coast.
I did really like it though.
If the one doesnt work out in Norwich you could consider that one in Ipswich - just a thought.

 

[VWCoastbusters]

When did the oil issue on the 180s get sorted? As in, what year ranges do we need to approach with caution?

 

[Volkywagen]

When did the oil issue on the 180s get sorted? As in, what year ranges do we need to approach with caution?

2010/2011 built engines.

 

[2into1]

When did the oil issue on the 180s get sorted? As in, what year ranges do we need to approach with caution?

It is 100% NOT just the 2010/11 engines. They were the worst, but believe that at your peril. The part that is hoped to have fixed the problem (the /d cooler) was (I believe) never fitted to production engines. If it was, it was only in 2015.
It is just a T5 issue. All T6 Cali’s didn’t use this engine (unlike some T6 panel vans that did).

 

[Goss]

They are one of the best (the best?) dealers, but I'd be interested to know which items on that list they do.

All of them, I visited a couple of times and technician showed me the tools for removing the tank covers when he replaced the water level sensor. they also replaced some trim covers parts that the PO probably didn’t even know was missing. Supplied printouts of the leisure battery discharge and full PDI sheet with comments and breakdown of time taken which was around 6 hours, all nicely bound in a booklet.

Handover with same technician was 2.5 hours covering every detail, we didn’t mind because it was all very useful information but we had to cancel visiting a relative because we were running so late. All of this and we paid a fair price too!

Regards,

Goss

 

[Norfolk Jim]

Well I have a photo of the part and it has no suffix!

He has checked through all documents and it doesn't seem if Robinsons in Norwich have done a habitation check at all (should they do this automatically?). He has gone through the incredibly comprehensive service record and nothing shows any extra oil usage. The owner apparently went into the garage if anything concerned him so we suspect if oil usage was high we'd have seen receipt for additional oil between services so unsure if that's a good sign of no issue? He also confirm he's not hiding that it came from auction - the auctioneer told him it was being sold by family as he'd been taken critically ill - hence there being so much diesel in the tank!

I'm at a loss really as to what to do as it looks good and drives incredibly well; smoothly and very very quiet. Accelerates well and quick and brakes in straight line. Not a sound from suspension even when hitting a pothole!!! Can you get mechanical insurance to protect you for this if it arose?

64k and in between hols I'd be using as a daily drive

 

[Goss]

Well I have a photo of the part and it has no suffix!

He has checked through all documents and it doesn't seem if Robinsons in Norwich have done a habitation check at all (should they do this automatically?). He has gone through the incredibly comprehensive service record and nothing shows any extra oil usage. The owner apparently went into the garage if anything concerned him so we suspect if oil usage was high we'd have seen receipt for additional oil between services so unsure if that's a good sign of no issue? He also confirm he's not hiding that it came from auction - the auctioneer told him it was being sold by family as he'd been taken critically ill - hence there being so much diesel in the tank!

I'm at a loss really as to what to do as it looks good and drives incredibly well; smoothly and very very quiet. Accelerates well and quick and brakes in straight line. Not a sound from suspension even when hitting a pothole!!! Can you get mechanical insurance to protect you for this if it arose?

64k and in between hols I'd be using as a daily drive

View attachment 67490

That’s an original and early EGR second line down after the 512 would have a letter the latest version being ”D”. As a precaution I asked the dealer to change mine to the latest version after a compression test which they included in the price of the vehicle. I’m sure there are thousands out there running on the original EGR’s with no problems but the risk is there and the costs are extremely high to replace engine, turbos and associated parts.

Only you can make that decision.

Regards

Goss

 

[WelshGas]

Well I have a photo of the part and it has no suffix!

He has checked through all documents and it doesn't seem if Robinsons in Norwich have done a habitation check at all (should they do this automatically?). He has gone through the incredibly comprehensive service record and nothing shows any extra oil usage. The owner apparently went into the garage if anything concerned him so we suspect if oil usage was high we'd have seen receipt for additional oil between services so unsure if that's a good sign of no issue? He also confirm he's not hiding that it came from auction - the auctioneer told him it was being sold by family as he'd been taken critically ill - hence there being so much diesel in the tank!

I'm at a loss really as to what to do as it looks good and drives incredibly well; smoothly and very very quiet. Accelerates well and quick and brakes in straight line. Not a sound from suspension even when hitting a pothole!!! Can you get mechanical insurance to protect you for this if it arose?

64k and in between hols I'd be using as a daily drive

View attachment 67490

Firstly, NOT all Californias of that age with that engine had the problem. It has not been conclusively proven that the EGR is the cause.
You are aware of the problem and have done Due Diligence.
If the worse came down the track then a replacement engine block etc would cost about £6K or thereabouts possibly less from an Independent VW specialist.
2 things you could do to aid your decision.
1. Compression check
2. If compression OK then you could consider changing the EGR to the latest version and on the 180 that would be around £1000 as it is a few hours labour and the EGR costs around £700.

If it is a good price put some money aside for a repair fund and enjoy it. Any doubts walkaway.

 

[Norfolk Jim]

Firstly, NOT all Californias of that age with that engine had the problem. It has not been conclusively proven that the EGR is the cause.
You are aware of the problem and have done Due Diligence.
If the worse came down the track then a replacement engine block etc would cost about £6K or thereabouts possibly less from an Independent VW specialist.
2 things you could do to aid your decision.
1. Compression check
2. If compression OK then you could consider changing the EGR to the latest version and on the 180 that would be around £1000 as it is a few hours labour and the EGR costs around £700.

If it is a good price put some money aside for a repair fund and enjoy it. Any doubts walkaway.

Thank you

 

[Ch1pbutty]

The garage should be willing to carry out the compression test as cost to them would be minimal, and likely that they will be asked same question from some other buyers; Opening page of their website shows a mini fleet of VW vans (They also have camper for hire) so they would have a good relationship with a local VW mechanic / or main dealer.

 

[Norfolk Jim]

But would simply a compression test confirm if engine was ok or not? It seems most issues occur around the 60 - 70k mark after an oil change.
Yes they do have a hire fleet of VW's and have a chap that hires campers out. They do have an excellent reputation and I've hired vans and even 7.5 tonne lorry from them; always very accommodating. I don't think they fob me off in any way and his e-mail back this morning started off saying 'Thank you for your email its not a problem I understand its a big purchase' and immediately sent the photo and said they can confirm battery condition...........................It's a family run business 10 minutes from me and he knows I think that I'd be hounding him if there were problems

 

[Ch1pbutty]

If the EGR fails, you end up with aluminium filings in the engine which results in metal grinding on metal -damage of which is irreversible; The test will establish if engine damage has occurred. If test is OK then switch for the redesigned EGR to avoid a future issue.

You mentioned that the van has a full VWSH so has been well looked after by the previous owner regardless of cost, so seems like EGR is the only question mark.

//
A compression tester is a quick and easy way to show if a catastrophic problem exists, and on which cylinder(s). If your engine drops a cylinder or two, a quick compression test will determine if something is physically wrong inside the engine. If there is, the affected cylinder(s) will show compression numbers significantly lower than the others. The only remaining question is why. Is it a bent valve? Broken piston ring? Blown head gasket? You may not know the answer just from using a compression tester, but you will know one answer: Whether or not you need to open up the engine for a closer look.
//

Video in below link gives a bit more info:

2.0 BiTDi Engines. What to know!

The idea of a 2.0 BiTDI Transporter or Amarok sounds great, and with quoted figures from the factory round the 180bhp mark, it sounds like the perfect platform to start with

www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk

 

[Norfolk Jim]

SO I asked a few more questions and got this reply. Would £5k do?

"There is no mention of extra oil on any of the service sheets .

We do offer insurance based warranty's which would cover repairs for 24m at a cost of £496 with a £5000 claim limit (per claim).

If you wanted to get the oil tested at robinsons or where ever that’s not a problem we use the vw dealer at bury st edmunds they are a lot more helpful"

 

[2into1]

The dealer won’t know if it’s using oil unless he has run if for at least 600 miles.
Do we only have his word for the illness story? Many private sellers become aware of the problem and either p/x or auction their van as they are too ‘nice’ to sell it directly to (and sting) a private buyer they shake hands with.

As for the main dealer not doing the habitation check.....no surprise there. If any main dealer offers that service, they contract it out. Most probably don’t know what a habitation check is.

Be careful with the warranty route as they will class this as wear and tear, having come on over all these miles rather than a sudden failure. Therefore it won’t cover the work.

As usual we get both sides of the argument. One poster says zero vans after 2011 are impacted, Welshgas rightly points out that not all are impacted. Given the odd route this van has travelled to sale (Cali’s at auction are very very rare) I would be careful and not buy it until the compression test and oil sample has been done.

Then I’d get the egr changed to a ‘/d’.

 

[2into1]

SO I asked a few more questions and got this reply. Would £5k do?

I’m unclear what the £5k refers to? Is it an offer of a discount?

 

[2into1]

A further thought regarding the warranty route....
As I said, they would argue it’s just gradual wear and tear and not a post sale failure. Also, the VW threshold for qualifying as ‘excess’ oil consumption is I believe 1l of oil every 1000 km (600 miles). That’s a bonkers level of consumption and many find their vans are unusable before that level is reached (smoke, dpf blocking and unable to regenerate...and engine going into limp mode). So even if a warranty was to consider a claim, I guess they would use VWs threshold to even start a conversation. You’d probably struggle to prove that point had been reached (limp mode etc).

 

[Norfolk Jim]

I’m unclear what the £5k refers to? Is it an offer of a discount?

£5k claim limit per claim in 24 months. Cost is £495

 

[Norfolk Jim]

I called the auctioneer and they confirmed family asked them to sell as chap died in August. They wouldn't tell me how much it went for though - shame as that would be a missive bargaining chip!

 

[Norfolk Jim]

There do appear to be quite few 180's of this age up for sale - surely all can't have this issue or VW could be taken to task? I think there's at least 3 on this site in the classified section with a Berghaus Edition only half an hour away from me.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

If it was me I would get the compression / oil test done and if all checks out Ok, I would buy the van. Then book it in in at VW to have the EGR upgraded. Obviously would try to get as much off purchase price as possible to contribute towards the cost.

 

[Norfolk Jim]

I can see what you're saying but it's not that simple. What's a compression test going to cost? 100 quid? Then what is typical cost for fitting new EGR cooler? I'm wondering if dealer might consider me offering to buy at screen price if he changes EGR if compression test ok with perhaps a slight contribution by me as after all it's not his fault; he assumed engine fine when he bought it and pretty sure his own guys had checked it over.....

 

[2into1]

I called the auctioneer and they confirmed family asked them to sell as chap died in August. They wouldn't tell me how much it went for though - shame as that would be a missive bargaining chip!

You can join ‘the saleroom’ for a very modest amount (vs the free join), which gives you access to sold prices (well it does for antiques ....my game).

 

[2into1]

he assumed engine fine when he bought it and pretty sure his own guys had checked it over.....

I can tell you want to buy it, but even this single sentence is full of holes. (Assumed, pretty sure).